Adolescence is the period de the life in which children become adults. It is between puberty, understood as the moment in which the first body transformations, and the achievement of social maturity, or the acquisition of legal responsibility.
During adolescence, not only does the body and physical appearance change, but we also witness the acquisition of new abilities in terms of the relationships and a gradual and increasing psycho-affective maturity.
Adolescence represents, therefore, a process of rebirth that involves the body and mind and which it supposes the transition (not always gradual) from the immaturity and social dependence of childhood to the autonomy of adult life. But when does this phase of life begin? At what age does adolescence begin? And what changes should we expect?
When does adolescence begin?
There is no pre-established and equal age for everyone and there are also differences in the age of onset of adolescence between men and women. For boys, the first signs of bodily change (enlarged testicles and penis, pubic and armpit hair) begin between the 9 and 14 years.
While, on the other hand, adolescence in the women (the sign of the beginning of puberty is an enlargement in correspondence with the nipple, the breast button), occurs on average around 10 years old, but not before 8 or at most within 13. After this first phase, in the following months, we will witness the gradual development of hair, which will appear first on the pubis and then in the armpit area. The appearance of pungent odor of sweat o of the small pimples It is also part of this phase of changes and can appear even a year before the development of the breast buds in females and the enlargement of the testicles in males.
But how long is this period? Although it is relatively easy to pinpoint an age for the onset of adolescence, we still have many uncertainties about its term. From a physical point of view, adolescence ends approximately between the 18 and 20 yearsHowever, there is no agreement on the age at which this stage of life ends, since for some it is also necessary to consider the achievement of economic independence of the boy or girl that is reached, however, much later.
What are the changes of adolescence?
For parents, signs that something is changing in your son or daughter they are mainly related to behavior, since they often find themselves interacting with children who (sometimes) at a certain point no longer recognize . However, the body also changes and various transformations are triggered, such as the lowering of the tone of voice or the appearance of hair in the armpits and pubic area.
Adolescence is thus characterized by numerous physical changes but the greatest revolution is the one that takes place in its brain . Studies carried out using functional magnetic resonance have shown that in this period the brain is more plastic and undergoes very important transformations.
But let's go step by step and see exactly what happens to the body of the adolescent . For men and women the changes proceed differently, so it is good to distinguish the bodily changes of adolescence in men and women.
For some experts, in fact, the moment in which economic independence is achieved (entry into the world of work) must also be taken into account, which often occurs later than in the past.
Changes in the adolescent brain
However, as mentioned above, the great revolution is the one that takes place in the mind of the adolescent . The brain is an organ that changes throughout life, but the most important changes occur at two very specific moments of development:
- during first thousand days of life, a period in which enormous amounts of connections (synaptic network) are formed between brain cells (neurons) and the different parts of the brain, a process that is the basis of learning.
- during adolescence.
The main characteristic of the adolescent brain is its ability to change in response to the environment and this is achieved by modifying the communication networks that connect the various parts of the brain. The second major brain rearrangement takes place in adolescence, characterized mainly by pruning : that is, everything that has not been used during childhood is eliminated. Pruning is influenced by family environmental factors and leads to more relevant links using the “use it or lose it” criteria. What, in the context in which the child lives, is considered essential and important, instead is reinforced by the creation of new connections.
Analyze and use memory
La fast communication between the different parts of the brain that is produced in this way allows a better ability to analyze and keep the memory. The precision and quality of construction of the connections establishes the quality of learning..
However, this special plasticity It is a double-edged sword, because if on the one hand it allows adolescents to take great steps in thought, conception and socialization, on the other hand this passage makes them very vulnerable to dangerous behaviors.
This is because the brain systems that undergo the greatest changes during adolescence are those that control the search for rewards, the relationships y regulatory behaviors. But what does all this mean? Our brain is made up of two systems: the part that controls instincts and emotions (limbic system) and the part that makes us understand how to control these. instincts/emotions to stay out of trouble (the prefrontal cortex or regulatory system).
During adolescence it happens that the two systems do not develop simultaneously, but first matures and intensifies the limbic, instinctive and emotional system that is strengthened at this age , while the prefrontal cortex matures much more slowly and this maturation ends only recently. towards the age of 20 (sometimes up to 24 years).
dangerous behaviors
Teenagers often have unreasonable and dangerous behaviors a manifestation of thought short range and also linked to peer pressure (for example, standing on train tracks, braving the train and moving alone at the last minute, experimenting with alcohol and drugs, experimenting with the sex without taking care to protect themselves from sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancy); This happens because the need to explore new situations is not well regulated by the Cortex prefrontal it's not ripe yet.
Understand the natural process of brain development it helps us understand that risk-taking, sensation-seeking, and parental withdrawal from peers are not signs of cognitive or emotional problems, but are part of growing up. In fact, adolescence is one of the stages of life with greater creative potential . Thanks to brain remodeling processes and hormonal stress, thinking, in this period of life, in addition to being strongly oriented towards exploration, with the consequent risks, is at the height of its cognitive abilities that develop and enhance creativity. And it is precisely this transformation that leads to questioning everything known and acquired by feeling free to be something else.